How to Detect Methanol
Methanol is a toxic type of alcohol sometimes called "wood alcohol." Some household chemicals contain methanol, including paint products, nail kits, antifreeze, perfumes, resin, some cleaners and some fuels. Testing the amount of methanol in a product or in the air can be critical. A person who swallows three tablespoons of methanol will die but, to an outsider, it will look like this person is intoxicated. If you try to make homemade alcohol and let some methanol slip into your concoction, it can blind you. If you are working on an engine and do not realize methanol vapors escaped from the fuel, you run the risk of an explosion.
Instructions
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Use a breath alcohol tester, such as a breathalyzer. The devices detect ethanol, but work with methanol too. Use a tester that does not require blowing into it. There is very little chemical difference between ethyl and methyl alcohols, which is why a breathalyzer works.
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Mix the product you suspect contains methanol with potassium dichromate. If it smells bad, methanol is present. Acidified potassium dichromate oxidizes methanol. When methanol degrades, it gives off formic acid, which has an acrid smell.
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Use litmus paper to test any trace of methanol in homemade alcohol. If there is methanol, the red paper will turn blue.
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Tips & Warnings
You need a sensitive breath alcohol tester to detect a small amount of methanol in the air. You can also use a combustible gas detector.
Drinking methanol (antifreeze, for example) causes the same effects as with drinking alcohol: dizziness, upset stomach and poor vision. But the recurring symptoms worsen over time.
Be careful. Methanol and bleach can form methyl hypochlorite, which is explosive.
Methanol vapors can settle on the ground if the air is still. Often explosions occur when the methanol vapors crawl over to the pilot light of the water heater. Good ventilation while working with methanol is a must because it will disperse the chemical in the air. Methanol rises if warmer than the air, and it will get warmed if used in processors.
References
Resources
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